The Angevin dynasty reached
its height with Henry II. The dynasty had risen through
ruthless expansion and strategic marriages, until it was
the dominant power reaching from the British Isles to
throughout the West of France. Angers was the centre of
this powerful empire.

Saint Maurice’s Cathedral was built during the twelfth and thirteenth
century at the centre of this rich empire, during the time that the innovations
of gothic architecture were developing.

Angers is a modern town with a medieval quarter and a cathedral with some
fine, early stained glass. The glass is interesting, in particular, because
it is one of the earliest to have started on restoration in recent decades.
Consequently, it has returned some of its most important windows to their
former glory and red and blue brightness.

The
cathedral of St Maurice

The cathedral was built in the 12th and 13th centuries.Its stained glass,
mostly original, is well-restored. There are two rose windows and 36 others,
the great majority of which are story windows.

There is a magnificent rose window in twenty-four sections. The twelve upper
ones illustrate the signs of the zodiac, the lower ones show twelve Angers
city elders. Christianism frequently absorbed older, non-christianist symbols,
rituals and holidays to accomodate more recruits. Many such details are to
be found in the byways of the gothic cathedrals.

In 1375, Louis I, the then Duke of Anjou and brother of Charles V, ordered
the making of this enormous piece of weaving. This tapestry, made in six pieces,
was 133 metres long by almost 6 metres high and was finished in 1382. Bequeathed
to Angers cathedral in 1480, the tapestry was removed and then ‘lost’
during the French revolution. The tapestry was found years later, being used
as horse blankets in the chateau stables. For this reason the tapestry now
has some pieces missing and some damage, and is slightly smaller. (This last
part of the tapestry’s history is now not mentioned in French tourist
documentation - that only records, and vaunts, the very recent preservation
methods and the tapestry’s display in a former dungeon.)

The tapestry is the oldest known surviving warp tapestry.
(The Bayeux ‘Tapestry’ is not a tapestry;
it was embroidered, not woven.) The images of the Anjou
tapestry follow closely the text of the last book in the
New Testament (Revelations), it shows the triumph
of Christanism after various ordeals. What the visitor
sees is the faded front. The back, often shown in tourist
literature with the images reversed, was mostly protected
by a lining during its travails and so has not faded to
any great extent.

end
note

The ‘Chinese hat’ above the letter ‘a’
in château indicates that originally this word was spelt
with an ‘s’ after the ‘a’ - chasteau. As
French pronounciation evolved, some sounds within words were dropped, as
were some sounds at the end of words. The ‘Chinese hat’, technically
called a circumflex, is also found over other vowels, for instance the ‘e’
in fenêtre. Fenêtre comes from the Latin for window:
fenestrum.